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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25490260">Dream On</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ukenceto/pseuds/ukenceto'>ukenceto</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Love beyond the bones [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Gears of War (Video Games)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>M/M, Memories, One Shot, Retrospective</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 08:08:50</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,785</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25490260</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ukenceto/pseuds/ukenceto</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Stranded in the middle of nowhere, Marcus remembers. </p><p>Set sometime before GOW2</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Carlos Santiago/Marcus Fenix, Damon Baird/Marcus Fenix</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Love beyond the bones [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1025247</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Dream On</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>***</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>The grass in the fields is dry, golden. Undulating like waves, an ochre ocean as far as the eye can see. Barely in sight, on the horizon, there’s a darker shape hinting at mountains – but in the heat of the day, it might as well be just a mirage.</p><p> </p><p>Much closer, on the hill overlooking the house, a skeletal, hunkering form darkens the ground, throwing a mangled shadow over the field. It had been a farm equipment of sorts, abandoned long ago when there’s still been wheat instead of grass, and the world was younger.</p><p> </p><p>Looking at the rusty behemoth, now stripped of anything salvageable until only the solid metal husk remained, Marcus felt all the weight of that time. The world hadn’t just changed; it felt like it had aged centuries in the spawn of a little over a decade.</p><p> </p><p>He could feel the ache in his own bones, the lingering pain of old injuries, weighty like the armor resting over his shoulders.</p><p> </p><p>Still, if he kept looking, under the light of the setting sun he could almost see the wheat again.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The memory kept eluding him, a silvery glimmer like a fish scale reflecting through a pond. He remembered the apple tree, but not the exact time it had happened. The mind had more than a single way of storing the past though, and in the scent of the dry grass, the cricketing of unseen bugs and the unique, indescribable feeling of late summer, he could almost relive that day over twenty years ago.</p><p> </p><p>Maybe even see the bikes thrown on the side of the road, hear Carlos’ laughter as they discussed something his mind hadn’t kept; but was of little merit now. Now, when he felt closer to him, to those memories he’d pushed behind lock and key because it hurt too much to recall them, than he had for longer than he could say. The slight pinpricks of the woolen blanket they’d thrown over the grass, the scattered shade under the canopy of green leaves.</p><p> </p><p>Skin, smooth and warm against his, the lingering taste of cool water.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“Let me love you.”</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Closing his eyes, he let his mind drift, unwilling to chase after the images in case it caused them to disperse like a startled flock of birds, gathering over the electric wires to leave with the first days of Frost.</p><p> </p><p>Swaying lightly on his feet, he listened to the wind which sounded like the ocean, and let himself feel at home again.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>“Marcus, it’ll get dark soon. We should set out the fortifications.” Baird’s voice brought him back to the present, and he turned reluctantly, looking at the farmhouse behind which the engineer had just come from.</p><p> </p><p>His hands visibly stained with grease even from afar, Baird leaned over the rails leading to the porch. He fell unusually quiet, perhaps noticing he’d seemingly intruded on something.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, let’s get to it.” Marcus sighed after a long moment and walked to him, eyeing the large crate at Baird’s feet. It held ordinance, the COG seal on it still clearly visible. It had either been pilfered by the last residents, or something left in passing for a patrol which no longer walked this route.</p><p> </p><p>The house itself was a miserable thing, single floor, the wood darkened by mold which even the scorching sun hadn’t been able to fade. All windows were boarded, and the roof strengthened however, which was perfect for their situation. Would keep any light from going out, and anyone from coming in too easily.</p><p> </p><p>And setting down tripwire sensors gave them one more advantage to the grubs.</p><p> </p><p>Helping Baird set the perimeter was pretty straightforward, though they still needed to be careful as the supplies weren’t limitless. Would be just enough to surround the house however, as Marcus knew. They’d done the same thing the previous evening, and now he found the marks they’d left in the ground after the downpour from before. The mud was already cracked, showing no sign of the rain.</p><p> </p><p>“As I was thinking, that car’s well and done for. But I got the accumulator set, though the thing’s old enough to need at least another day to charge via solar.” Baird grumbled as he set the last part of the explosives, before slamming the box shut.</p><p> </p><p>“As long as it gets the Junker running again.” Marcus hummed, thinking of their other supplies – everyone had rations for a couple more days. No one had expected the trip to end up the way it had, but at least the enemy didn’t seem to be on them yet. One good thing.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh it will run. ‘Cause I sure ain’t walking all the way back to Jacinto.” Frowning, Baird soaked the cloth that had been tucked on the side of his belt from the barrel next to the front door. The rain water in it seemed clear enough and they were all using it for washing up. Rubbing at his grease-stained hands for a while, before eventually giving up since there was no way to remove everything without soap, Baird sighed and leaned on the doorframe.</p><p> </p><p>There was still light, but it already made the shadow thrown by the house extend far, bringing a note of cooler air. The nights here were colder than one would guess, though the wood trapped enough heat to keep them comfortable even when sleeping on the floor.</p><p> </p><p>“Hoffman won’t be happy to see us return empty-handed.” Marcus quipped, though he couldn’t even muster the pretense of caring much about Hoffman’s opinion.</p><p> </p><p>“He can go screw himself, for all I care. Sending us on a damn ghost hunt.” Baird however sounded agitated, like he usually did whenever someone was making his life difficult, one way or another. “Like, I’m pretty sure he’s trying to get rid of us at this point. This is what, the third time he’d sent us after this research, and for nothing?”</p><p> </p><p>“He must think it’s important enough to keep digging. And that it exists, at least. One would hope.” Marcus himself wasn’t entirely certain if Hoffman’s actions were backed by anything substantial, though he doubted the man would be sending them out just for the kick of it. Not when there was already enough going on around the city, the locust pushing at the border towns, ambushing patrols further and further into what was left of the ‘civilized world’.</p><p> </p><p>“Or it had gone in a stranded’s bonfire a long time ago.” Ever the pessimist, Baird shrugged his shoulders dismissively, the crow feet lines around his eyes deepening as his expression remained terse.</p><p> </p><p>Marcus couldn’t think of something to say in turn, so he just kept quiet, following the line of Baird’s gaze back to the fields. There were birds on one of the few trees, barely visible from this far. It was such a strangely peaceful sight. There was nothing to break the silence, no gunfire or screaming, no hum of electricity; the house and the harvester’s hull the only thing to remind there had ever been people around.</p><p> </p><p>Perhaps without them, even the grubs had deemed to leave the place be.</p><p> </p><p>Still, Marcus was as ever on high alert, his body having developed that constant state of being on the lookout, of keeping track of everything even when his thoughts were elsewhere. The only way to have survived this long, though it came with a price.</p><p> </p><p>The way he’d go to sleep exhausted every night, and yet his own mind never settled from that frantic high, spawning vivid terrors to haunt him when he couldn’t fight back.</p><p> </p><p>“I swear it sometimes feels like you’re a million miles away.” Baird had moved to stand next to him, mirroring Marcus’ pose against the railing of the balcony. He had his half-smile on, tone soft despite the teasing in his words. “I’m still elbows deep in some machinery or other here, but it surely feels different than the garage. Almost like a vacation. There’s no running water or beds, but we still got a view.”</p><p> </p><p>“Mmm, it is nice. Could see why someone had tried to stay out here so long.” Marcus knew it had likely not been easy, but for anyone to live so far out, they had already had a certain amount of self-sufficiency that could’ve kept them going even in such a solitary place. The car that Baird had gutted to get parts for their broken ride had run on solar batteries – something the Imulsion conglomerates had tried so hard to push back from the mainstream consumers during the old war.</p><p> </p><p>And yet, it was clear that the land hadn’t seen plough in years, and the house held little but an ancient bathtub and a couple of rooms bare of anything that wasn’t nailed to the floor.</p><p> </p><p>“Cole found a couple of books. I’m pretty sure Dom’s been reading about agriculture all day today.” Baird chuckled lightheartedly, bumping his shoulder against Marcus’. “The squad’s keeping busy. Though I wouldn’t mind a bit of a morale boost.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh yeah?” Looking at him, Marcus turned so that he was resting on his side, then pulled Baird in by the waist. He could feel the warmth of Baird’s body against his palm, the soft material of his shirt the only barrier between them, since he hadn’t been wearing his armor while working. “And how could I do that?”</p><p> </p><p>“Hmm, I don’t know… Maybe a kiss for a job well-done?”  Baird was keeping his voice low, but even so Marcus knew it wouldn’t have been an issue if Dom or Cole came out at this moment. They both knew, and it certainly had him feel calmer that they were safe from scrutiny, or something more one would inevitably face in the city, if they dared be so casual there.</p><p> </p><p>“Can’t say no to that.” He hummed out with a smirk before seeking Baird’s lips, enjoying the kiss slowly, feeling the hands which came to rest at the back of his head pulling him in to stay. He had no intention of pulling back to begin with, content to have Baird in his arms, drawn to his warmth like a moth to a flame.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>They were in no rush for an early start tomorrow either, if Baird’s calculations about the battery’s accumulation rate were correct. Even if it was going to be a slow night, since everyone slept in the same room, Marcus realized that he was not as tired for once.</p><p> </p><p>When their lips parted, he kept his hold on Baird’s back, wrapping both arms around him. They still had some time until the evening fell fully.</p><p> </p><p>And even though there was no wheat, he almost felt like being home again.</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Something that came up because I wanted to read a new gears fic today and a way to do that was to write it. </p><p>I've been hinting at my Carlos/Marcus thoughts in other fics too, but I'm yet to do a more concise story with them.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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